Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is announcing today that he plans a second National Distracted Driving Summit in September, following up on a two-day summit that drew huge attendance and news coverage last fall.

Last year, LaHood announced at the summit that President Barack Obama had signed an executive order banning texting while driving for 4 million government employees.

Officials also hope to have more news to announce at this coming summit.

The summit will include lawmakers, transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, researchers, and victims affected by distraction-related crashes.

LaHood said in the announcement: “Working together, we can put an end to the thousands of needless deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving each year. … By getting the best minds together, I believe we can figure out how to get people to put down their phones and pay attention to the road.”

The announcement says: “At this year’s event, experts from around the country will explore accomplishments since our first summit, as well as the many challenges that lie ahead. Key topics will include research, technology, policy, public outreach, and best practices in enforcement.

“In the year since Secretary LaHood convened the first Distracted Driving Summit, efforts to curb distracted driving have grown exponentially. Dozens of states have enacted anti-distracted driving legislation and the federal government has established texting bans for commercial truck and bus drivers. The Department of Transportation helped victims establish a national non-profit advocacy organization called FocusDriven and launched pilot law enforcement campaigns in Hartford, CT and Syracuse, NY.